The present invention relates to an article of footwear. In particular, the present invention relates to athletic shoes used in sports that entail asymmetric movement of the feet, for example, fencing.
Fencing is a sport involving attacking and defending with a sword or similar weapon. The rules and techniques of modern fencing are derived from those originally developed for swordplay in dueling. Three weapons are commonly used in modern fencing: the foil, the epxc3xa9e, and the saber. The blades are made of tempered steel with a maximum length of about 89 centimeters (35 inches). The foil is light and flexible and is considered the basic weapon. The epxc3xa9e, like the foil, is a thrusting weapon, however it is heavier and more rigid than the foil. The saber is a thrusting and slashing weapon derived from a weapon formerly used by cavalry soldiers.
Bouts are conducted on a strip approximately 1.5 to 2 meters (4.9 to 6.6 feet) wide and 14 meters (46 feet) long. The first fencer to score five touches wins a bout. In formal competition, the weapons are wired and connected to an electrical scoring apparatus so that a light flashes on the sidelines when a touch is scored.
Certain fundamental techniques are common to all three weapons. For example, the attack and defense, the parry, and the riposte techniques. The attack and defense technique is initiated from the basic on-guard position, a crouch assumed with knees flexed, the rear arm crooked upward, and the sword arm partially extended toward the opponent. The parry is a movement of the blade designed to block an attack. The riposte is the return thrust made immediately following a parry. A simple attack is made with one motion and is intended to hit the target before the defender can parry. A compound attack involves two or more blade movements. A running attack, or flexc3xa7he, is used to catch an opponent by surprise. A competitor under attack may use a stop-thrust, a sudden counterattack made by thrusting without lunging.
The basic attacking action used in fencing is a lunge. The lunge is executed by stabbing with the sword arm at the target and thrusting forward on the front, or leading, leg. The attack is successful if a touch is scored on the valid target area. In foil fencing only touches on the torso are counted. In epxc3xa9e competition the entire body is a valid target. In saber fencing the entire area above the hips is a valid target.
The lunge movement begins with the athlete in a substantially upright position. The athlete then thrusts forward, propelling the arm holding the weapon and the leg on the same side of the body as the weapon. The leg on the opposite side of the weapon anchors the lunge. The foot on the propelled leg is called the leading foot and the foot on the anchored leg is called the trailing foot. A proper lunge requires aligning the longitudinal axis of the leading foot with the lunge direction. The longitudinal axis of the trailing foot should be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the leading foot. Thus, fencing is a sport involving asymmetrical foot movements. Other sports involving asymmetrical foot movements are, for example, high jumping, sprinting, running, and the like.
Athletes involved in these types of sports have usually improvised solutions for improving performance, such as, wearing a different kind of shoe on each foot. For example, a high jumper might wear a sprinting shoe on the kick-off foot and a high jump shoe on the take-off foot; however, the performance improvement, real or perceived, experienced by combining shoes from two different sports is often tempered by the lack of stability, support, cushioning, and flexibility involved in using a different kind of shoe on each foot.
Accordingly, a need exists for athletic shoes adapted for sports involving asymmetric foot movements, such as fencing, that allow each foot to perform optimally. A need also exists for athletic shoes that provide each foot with stability, support, cushioning, and flexibility as dictated by the basic asymmetric movements of the specific sport.
Embodiments of the present invention can be used in a variety of sports that require asymmetric movements of the feet such as fencing; however, the embodiments will be discussed herein primarily in connection with fencing shoes, by way of example only.
In one aspect, the shoes of the present invention comprise a trailing shoe and a leading shoe. The trailing and leading shoes each comprise an upper and a sole and are specially adapted to the particular asymmetric movement of the trailing and leading foot, respectively, allowing each foot to perform optimally. The trailing shoe sole includes a lateral portion and an opposed medial portion, the lateral sole portion having a greater thickness than the medial portion.
According to one embodiment, the trailing shoe sole includes a front portion and a rear portion. The front portion of the trailing shoe sole has a first difference in the respective thicknesses of the lateral and medial portions. The rear portion of the trailing shoe sole has a second difference in the respective thicknesses of the lateral and medial portions. The second difference in thickness is greater than the first difference, for example, six millimeters and five millimeters, respectively. The trailing shoe may also include a midsole and an outsole.
According to another embodiment, the trailing shoe and the leading shoe may each include heel cushioning. Generally, the heel cushioning of the leading shoe would be thicker than the heel cushioning of the trailing shoe. In addition, the leading shoe may include a heel cup, a protective toe patch, and an overlay. The heel cup is positioned at a heel end of the leading shoe upper for stabilizing the heel and minimizing the impact forces. The protective toe patch is positioned at a toe end of the leading shoe upper for protecting against toe jamming. The overlay is secured under a lace throat of the leading shoe for preventing excessive wear.
Further embodiments of the trailing shoe may include additional features. For example, a performance plate may extend along the length of the trailing shoe and in proximity to the shoe sole. The performance plate may extend an entire foot length and be a full forefoot wide and may be constructed of a thin material resilient to flexures. In addition, the performance plate can be tuned to a predetermined stiffness to minimize dissipation of energy, for example, during a lunge movement. The trailing shoe may also include a high abrasion insert located on the forefoot area of the shoe and extending from the medial portion of the trailing shoe sole to the upper. Also, the trailing shoe may include an asymmetrical upper having a medial side and a lateral side, the asymmetrical upper extending higher on the medial side than on the lateral side. The asymmetrical upper may include a tongue stitched, or otherwise secured, to the medial side and left unattached on the lateral side for promoting stability on the medial side and flexibility on the lateral side.
These and other objects, along with advantages and features of the present invention herein disclosed, will become apparent through reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention, the accompanying drawings, and the claims.